The "dirtiest campaign in modern presidential elections" is, in fact, the Republican pre-emptive strike against the Kerry campaign: Republicans Accuse Kerry of Planning Dirty Campaign
Thu Feb 12, 6:47 PM ET
story.news.yahoo.com
By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of President Bush (news - web sites)'s Republican Party accused Democrat John Kerry (news - web sites)'s campaign on Thursday of planning the "dirtiest campaign in modern presidential politics" in a scorched-earth bid to oust Bush in November.
Republican National Committee (news - web sites) Chairman Ed Gillespie took the offensive against the Democrats after days in which Bush has been on the defensive over Democratic charges that he shirked his Air National Guard duties in the Vietnam war.
"It's only February and they have made clear they intend to run the dirtiest campaign in modern presidential politics," Gillespie said, according to speech excerpts released by the RNC.
The Kerry campaign quickly fired back, calling Gillespie's comments "nothing more than a smear from the right-wing attack machine" and likened it to what Democrats consider underhand tactics used against Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona in 2000 and Democrat Sen. Max Cleland of Georgia in 2002.
"It's what they did to John McCain in South Carolina and Max Cleland in Georgia. But it's not going to work this time," said a Kerry campaign spokesman, Chad Clanton.
With Kerry looking increasingly likely to emerge as the winner of Democratic Party contests to pick an opponent for Bush in the November election, Republicans are stepping up their attacks on him.
Gillespie seized on comments by a Kerry celebrity supporter, the rock performer Moby, that were published last week in the New York Daily News.
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In the article, Moby was quoted as suggesting ways to try to create doubt about Bush among his conservative supporters on the Internet.
"For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you're an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion," Moby said.
Gillespie said: "We now know that some time this fall Kerry campaign operatives intend to go into pro-life chat rooms on the Internet to spread a scurrilous story that President Bush drove a former girlfriend to an abortion clinic, and paid for her abortion, according to the New York Daily News."
Kerry campaign officials said Moby had no connection to the Kerry campaign, does not speak for the campaign and that it was ridiculous to call him an "operative" for the campaign.
Gillespie has been leading the attacks against Kerry and other Democratic candidates as the White House tries to remain above the fray until a Democratic nominee is selected.
But the scrap over Bush's Air National Guard service has caused the White House to come out swinging against what spokesman Scott McClellan has called "gutter politics."
Questions about Bush's military service coincide with his portrayal of himself as a "war president" for leading efforts against international terrorism and his invasion of Iraq (news - web sites).
Gillespie also took a poke at Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.
"We now know that Teresa Heinz Kerry gave over $50,000 to the League of Conservation Voters just before they endorsed her husband's candidacy and ran ads on his behalf, according to the New York Post," he said.
Kerry campaign officials said this was wrong, that the Heinz Family Foundation often gives to environmental causes, that it has contributed to the group but has not contributed anything in the last three years. |
